Ask people in Kent to name some things they associate with Whitstable, and they’ll probably say, seaside, oysters and Peter Cushing (he used to live there).

They might also say Whitstable Bay beers, and the Maunsell forts.

Ask me, and I would say all of those things. I’d also say, street art.

Whitstable’s coast has inspired hundreds of artists throughout history, notably JMW Turner. His famous watercolour, ‘Oyster Beds at Whitstable’ was one of several that he painted for a book, Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England, by W.B. Cooke. Turner was a frequent visitor to nearby Margate, and the Kent seaside was the subject of many of his paintings and sketches.

More recently, art in Whitstable has moved off canvas and onto buildings, as the town’s colourful streets have acquired a new collection of residents; murals all over the town that commemorate town folk, provide witty social commentary, and are eye-catching in the best way. Wandering around Whitstable is like being in an open air gallery, from the rainbow of shopfronts and pubs, to the street paintings and houses. Not to mention the glorious sea views.

I could blog for days about all the reasons I love Whitstable. Today’s post, however, is simply about the whimsical, wonderful street art that abounds in this quirky seaside town.

What is street art, anyway?

Caveat: I am no art historian, but here’s a quick potted history of street art if you’d like one.

The idea of art on walls and surfaces goes back to our ancient ancestors painting in caves. Modern street art originated in New York and Philadelphia in the 1960s and 1970s, based on the idea of democratising art by putting it in places where it could be seen by everyone for free, and owned by no one. It quickly spread around the world, and by the 1980s, graffiti and street art had reached Britain alongside hip hop music. DryBreadZ Crew was one of the first UK street art collectives. One of their members – a certain Banksy – would go on to become world famous!

Many early graffiti artists simply ‘tagged’ their names, but as graffiti became popular, the need to stand out among a proliferation of artists led to a rapid evolution of style, size and design, with images as well as text being used. Nowadays the term ‘street art’ encompasses everything from graffiti tags to sculpture, and huge artistic pieces à la Banksy and similar.

There’s plenty of street art around Kent: Ashford had enough for a whole festival – Unframed – in 2023, and Julia Scanlon’s Medway heroes murals can still be seen around the Medway towns. (Well, most of them can; I’m still annoyed that Scanlon’s marvellous Dickens mural has been scrubbed off Gillingham Community Hub.)

Some people get sniffy about street art, but I love it. A great piece of street art stops you in your tracks; it makes you think, makes you laugh, makes you want to get your phone out and take a photo. It’s different to mindlessly spray painting a cock on a wall, or scrawling a name on a bus shelter – that’s just boring vandalism that requires no skill and no imagination. Painting something funny, thought-provoking and cheerful takes talent and effort. In a world that feels ugly and aggressive right now, these creative artistic glimmers spread a little bit of joy. And they are delightful subjects for hobby photographers like me.

On to the Whitstable murals!

Right, let’s take a mini-tour of street art in Whitstable.

Somerset Maugham

First up, a mural commemorating Somerset Maugham, famous writer of gloomy books. He was born in Paris, but after his mother died, was sent to live with his uncle, the vicar of Whitstable. Maugham attended the King’s School in Canterbury, where he was bullied on account of his stammer and French accent.

Maugham was deeply unhappy in Whitstable, which he used as the inspiration for the town of Blackstable in his equally unhappy novel, Of Human Bondage (I trudged through that once for a book club, and enjoyed it about as much as Somerset Maugham enjoyed living in Kent). Maugham achieved international acclaim as an author and playwright but was not particularly celebrated in Whitstable until relatively recently. This mural by Ben Dickson took two years to complete, and was ‘unveiled’ by Maugham’s family in November 2021.

Catman

Dotted around Whitstable are several artworks by local artist, Catman. Often described as Kent’s answer to Banksy, Catman’s creations pop up overnight, and you never know what – or where – the next one will be.

Catman’s work in the town includes this piece dedicated to ‘superhuman’ NHS staff. It’s on the wall opposite the Duke of Cumberland pub, and depicts an exhausted doctor wearing a stethoscope and face mask, holding a hand to his head. The doctor’s shadow, however, is that of a superhero, cape billowing in the wind. It went up in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and has remained untouched ever since.

Catman also installed this monochrome mural of Queen Elizabeth II walking three corgis and wearing her trademark headscarf and glasses. The deep-sea diver on the railway bridge on Canterbury Road, and the craggy bearded sailor holding a tankard encouraging people to ‘drink local’ further up Harbour Street, are also Catman’s.

My favourite Catman, however, has to be this one – Van Gogh with sunflower on the wall outside the ladies’ loos near the harbour!

I always enjoy looking out for a new Catman on trips to Whitstable. Spotting one is like finding a bit of treasure. On my most recent trip at the end of August, I wasn’t disappointed. This Magritte-inspired painting is called Son of Inked Man and is currently on the corner of Nelson Road.

St Vincent’s mural

Another mural I think is rather lovely is this one dedicated to children who grew up in care in the town. Originally painted by pupils and staff from St Vincent’s School in 1977, it was repainted in 2014 but could do with another spruce-up. Nevertheless, it’s still a charming sight.

Stewy on Sea Street

The Man of Kent tends to meander off while I’m taking pictures, and doesn’t usually take many photos himself. However, as a cat lover, even he couldn’t resist this adorable stencil mural by Stewy, on Sea Street, back in 2023. I forgot to check whether this mural is still there on my last visit – I hope so!

Stewy’s cat stencils can seen all over the country. The artist himself hails from Bristol, and describes his work as “psychogeographic life size stencils of animals & outsiders, rebels, misfits and obscure icons representing our public history.”

Peter Cushing in a phone box

Art lovers visiting Whitstable should certainly drop into The Horsebridge arts centre. It holds exhibitions by local artists and has a neat gift shop selling Whitstable- and Kent-themed products. A hop, skip and a jump up the road from The Horsebridge is this phone box tribute to former local celebrity resident, Peter Cushing. Whovians will know (but others may not) that Peter Cushing starred in Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 AD in the 1960s, playing human scientist Dr. Who in both movies.

(And if you enjoy phone boxes as mini-art galleries, do take a look at the Medway Artbox in Rochester (near the Guildhall Museum) next time you’re there).

And finally

So there you have it – a whistle-stop mini-tour of Whitstable street art. Keep an eye out for street murals next time you’re there, or indeed anywhere in Kent. You might just be the first person to spot the latest Catman!